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City Profile: Baguio

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DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2011.05.002

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 Cities 30 (2013) 240–251

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Cities
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities

City profile

City Profile: Baguio

Ronald C. Estoque a,⇑, Yuji Murayama b
a
Division of Spatial Information Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan; Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University,
Philippines
b
Division of Spatial Information Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Baguio, planned as a convalescent-cum-recreational center and a highland refuge by American colonizers,
Received 23 September 2010 has evolved into a highly-urbanized regional center. The availability of essential urban services and facil-
Received in revised form 25 February 2011 ities has helped transform the settlement into the summer capital of the country, a major educational and
Accepted 5 May 2011
tourist center, the seat of the regional government and, in recent years, an emerging industrial and health
Available online 17 June 2011
service center north of Metro Manila. Congestion arising from rapid population growth and uncontrolled
urban expansion are exerting pressure on the city’s amenities, resources and the natural environment.
Keywords:
This profile traces the city’s evolution as a hill station to a highly urbanized regional center, and discusses
Baguio
Hill station
and analyses its plans for future development. Systematic planning, cooperation and good governance are
Population crucial to address the many challenges that the city faces, and to allow for its sustainable development in
Summer capital the future.
Urbanization Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Philippines

Introduction
From 1980–1990, the 5.1% annual urban growth rate in the Phil-
ippines was considered one of the highest in the developing econ-
omies of Asia (Mercado & Manasan, 1998). Such growth was
controlled by a mixture of factors related to the history, geography,
as well as the ‘‘sectoral’’ macroeconomic and explicit spatial
policies influencing the development of urban areas (Mercado &
Manasan, 1998; NEDA, 1996).
In the Philippines, the explosive and unabated growth of urban
areas is considered one of the most important indicators that char-
acterize the country’s development process (Cariño & Corpuz,
2008). In the early 1950s, just a little over 5 million [or around
27% of Filipinos] were residing in cities. By the early 1990s, the
country’s urban proportion had risen to well over 29 million, or al-
most 49% of the country’s population. This rose further to more
than 53 million [over 60% of the population] in 2005. It has been
projected that about 117 million, or 84% of Filipinos, will be urban
residents by 2050 (Cariño & Corpuz, 2008).
As the only American hill station in Asia (Crossette, 1999; Reed,
1999) and the only hill station in the Philippines, Baguio city, the
country’s summer capital, enjoyed economic, political and social
prominence for more than a century. Compared with a population
of 489 in 1903 (OCPDC, 2002), the city is now a home to 301,926
people (NSO, 2007) and is one of the highly urbanized entities in
the country today. The development and availability of basic and
essential urban services and facilities have helped transform the
city into a major educational, tourist, and government center in
the region. In recent years, Baguio city has emerged not only as a
leading industrial center, but also as a health services center north
of Metro Manila. However, rapid urbanization and population
growth are straining the city’s resources. Such developments are
beginning to take a toll on the people’s well-being and on the envi-
ronment. Having reviewed the city’s geographical characteristics,
history, and its socio-economic conditions, this paper looks at
Baguio’s evolution as a hill station to a highly urbanized regional
center. Current environment-related issues are identified, and this
is followed by a discussion and analysis of the city’s plans for
future development, and a summary and concluding remarks.
Geographical background
Baguio city is located 16°250 N and 120°360 E on Luzon Island,
Philippines, approximately 250 km north of Manila (Fig. 1).
Although it functions independently as a chartered city1, Baguio
is situated within the province of Benguet in the Cordillera

⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Division of Spatial Information Science, Grad- 1

A chartered city, which includes a number regarded as Highly Urbanized City, is
uate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 accorded significant powers of self-government and individual representation as a
Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan. congressional district (which are otherwise based on provincial and congressional
E-mail address: purplebee80@yahoo.co.uk (R.C. Estoque). district boundaries, respectively).

0264-2751/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cities.2011.05.002
 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251
Fig. 1. Location and elevation maps of Baguio city and its adjacent municipalities. Data source: 1995 Topographic Map (NAMRIA, 1995).
Administrative Region (CAR). The more developed portion lies in the
northern half of the city (Saldivar-Sali & Einstein, 2007). The city,
approximately 57.49 km2 in area, extends 8.2 km from west to east
and 7.2 km from north to south (OCPDC, 2002). It has a perimeter
of about 31 km, being bounded by the municipalities of La Trinidad
(the provincial capital of Benguet) in the north, Itogon in the north-
east, Tuba in the west and Sablan in the northwest. Politically and
administratively, it is divided into 129 barangays.2
Generally, the city’s climate is characterized by two pronounced
regimes: a dry season from November to April, and a rainy season
from May to October. Baguio city’s rainfall record of 1168.1 mm in
24 h on July 14–15, 1911 (Jennings, 1950) is among the highest in
the world. From 1950–2003, the average annual rainfall in Baguio
was 3648 mm (Saldivar-Sali & Einstein, 2007). In October 2009, the
rainfall in the city was extremely high due to a tropical cyclone,
rendering a rainfall record of 462 mm for that month, almost four
times the monthly average (Papa, 2009). Rainfall is generally high-
er in Baguio than in the rest of the country: for instance, it receives
twice the volume of rainfall usually experienced in Manila (Saldi-
var-Sali & Einstein, 2007).
As a hill station, Baguio city is famed for its cool climate owing
to its elevation from 950 to 1650 m asl. Most of the developed
areas are on a 1500 m high plateau in the Cordillera mountain
2
Barangay is also known by its former Spanish adopted name, the barrio. It is the
smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a
village, district or ward.
241
range of Northern Luzon. Baguio city is, on the average, 8 °C cooler
than the lowlands. Its average temperature ranges from 15 °C to
23 °C, seldom exceeding 26 °C even during the warmer months
(Saldivar-Sali & Einstein, 2007). It is generally lower at the end
and beginning of the year; the lowest temperature of 6.3 °C was re-
corded on January 18, 1961, while the city’s all-time high temper-
ature of 30.4 °C was recorded on March 15, 1988 (Basilan &
Vicente, 2008).
In terms of accessibility, Baguio city can be reached from the
western lowland areas via three national roads, namely Naguilian
Road, Kennon Road and Marcos Highway (Figs. 1 and 6). It is also
accessible via the Ambuclao Road and Halsema Highway from
the northeastern highlands and through the Baguio–Bua–Itogon
Road from the eastern part of the city.
A brief history of Baguio City
Towards the end of the 19th century, increasing numbers of
Westerners became attracted to the cooler mountain towns in
the highlands of South and Southeast Asia in the belief that lengthy
stays in such climates greatly benefited the body and spirit (Reed,
1999). One of these popular mountainous destinations was the
province of Benguet in the Cordillera region, the location of Baguio
city. Benguet had been under the control of the Spanish, whose re-
gime in the Philippines lasted more than 300 years (1521–1898). In
1898 when the Americans first came to Kafagway, the original
name of Baguio city, there were only few houses and no roads
242 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251

(Gutierrez & Cariño, 2009). The area was used for herding cattle
and horses during the dry months of the year while during the
wet season, it was all marshland with a shallow lake. The favorable
climate and the high potential of the area for development as a
holiday destination, convalescent-cum-recreational center and as
a refuge to escape from ‘‘tropical fatigue’’ were the reasons why
the Americans proposed Baguio as a place to develop.
In the early 1900s, the Americans established the first civil gov-
ernment in the province of Benguet (Doronila, 2009), with Kafag-
way, later renamed Baguio, designated as the capital. Baguio was
thought to be derived from the native Ibaloi word ‘‘bigyiw,’’ which
is a moss-like green plant that grew around the area where Burn-
ham Park is now located. In June 1903, the Philippine Commission
passed a resolution making the town of Baguio the summer capital

Fig. 2. (a) The preliminary plan for Baguio in 1905 (Redrawn by the City Planning Office) Source: OCPDC (2002); (b) Aerial photograph of Baguio city in 2009 (Source: Google
Earth, 2009). These two maps show that despite some revisions made on the Burnham plan through the years, its main features like the Burnham Park, government and
commercial center still exist and remain significant landmarks in present day Baguio city.
 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251
of the country (Doronila, 2009; Guerra, 2006). Also included in the
resolution was the call for the construction of buildings and trans-
portation routes. In 1905, a modern city (Baguio city), envisioned
to accommodate up to 25,000 people, was planned and laid out
(Fig. 2a) by Daniel H. Burnham, an American architect and city
planner (Alabanza, 2007; Doronila, 2009, Gutierrez & Cariño,
2009).
In 1909, Baguio was declared the second chartered city in the
Philippines, after Manila (Doronila, 2009; Gutierrez & Cariño,
2009). Some of the major construction projects and improvements
that took place from the early 1900s up to the Second World War
included the establishment of the telephone system, Baguio Gen-
eral Hospital, Philippines Constabulary School (the predecessor of
the Philippine Military Academy), water system, sanitary camp, Ba-
guio airport, hydroelectric plant, the Baguio Central School, and the
construction of Kennon Road that connects Baguio and Manila and
other lowland areas.
After a history of steady development, Baguio city suffered a
setback when Japan occupied the Philippines in 1941. A garrison
and a concentration camp were set up in the city during the war
(Reed, 1999). The city is also known as the place where Japanese
generals signed their capitulation in 1945. After the war, much
has been done to transform Baguio city into one of the bustling
metropolises in the country and a leading urban center north of
Metro Manila. Today, it functions as an educational, trading, tour-
ism and administrative hub in northern Luzon, apart from being
the ‘‘Summer Capital of the Philippines.’’
Socio-economic conditions
Demography
Based on the population census by the NSO (2007), Baguio city
has a population of 301,926. Starting from two groups of native Fil-
ipinos (Ilocanos and Igorots: Wilson, 1955), the city’s population
now includes other native groups like Pangasinenses, Tagalogs,
and Kapampangans from across the country, as well as foreign
nationals who have opted to settle in the city (Acupanda, 2007).
The city’s population has now become diverse. Ilocano is the most
common mother tongue dialect, spoken by 50% of households, fol-
lowed by Tagalog (23%) and Pangasinense (4%). Close to 10% speak
the indigenous Cordillera dialects including Ibaloi and Bontok (3%
each), while the remaining 13% speak other languages and dialects
(OCPDC, 2002). Baguio’s households are relatively conversant in
English. The variety of languages and dialects indicates that signif-
icant migration has taken place, also accounting for the large pop-
ulation growth.
Statistical data by the NSO (2000) revealed a sex ratio of 104
females to 100 males. The city has a very young population, with
68.70% below 30 years of age (Fig. 3). To support such a young pop-
ulation structure, there is the need to provide services to sustain
socio-economic welfare in health and nutrition, education, public
safety and protection, etc. Equally important is the need to provide
services for the elderly. Unfortunately, such services are currently
inadequate (OCPDC, 2002). As a proactive strategy to address the
Table 1
Baguio city income, 1996–2009 (in million PhP).
Particulars 1996 1998 2000
Internal revenue allotment 134.46 177.87 215.69
Tax and non-tax revenue 146.65 171.99 324.28
Total 281.11 349.87 539.97
Total% annual increase – 12.23 27.17
Data sources: OCPDC (2002), OCT (2010).
243
Fig. 3. Population by age group in Baguio city, 2000.
increasing demand for specialized elderly services, steps must be
taken to institutionalize specialized geriatric care services.
Economy and employment
The city’s economy largely depends on commercial wholesale
and retail services. Besides providing employment, business taxes
from such services generate substantial income for the city. There
are some 9907 legitimate businesses operating in various parts of
the city (OCPDC, 2002). The majority of the economic activities,
representing 86% of the total, include commercial retailers
(49.49%), real estate leaser/boarding house operators (13.55%), ser-
vices/contractors (11.70%), restaurants and cafes (6.21%), and
wholesalers (4.92%). Baguio city also hosts a special economic zone
(SEZ) under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). The
SEZ caters to nine foreign firms. The largest of these is Texas Instru-
ments Philippines, Inc., a leading producer of semi-conductor parts
and accessories for the world market. The production output in the
SEZ accounts for the bulk of the exports from the Cordillera Region
where Baguio city is its regional capital. There are also small and
medium scale handicraft industries such as woodcraft, metal craft,
garments production, food processing and ceramics production.
These local products are unique for their ethnic and personal
touch. However, the local and indigenous industrial enterprises re-
main underdeveloped as alternative major sources of income.
The city generates its income from the Internal Revenue Allot-
ment (IRA) coming from the national government and tax and
non-tax revenues. IRA is a local government’s share (in this case,
Baguio city) of revenues from the national government, which is
largely based on land area and population (RA 7160, 1991). The
tax and non-tax revenues include local taxes generated from per-
mits and licenses, services, business and other miscellaneous
sources (OCPDC, 2002; OCT, 2010). Baguio’s income has been con-
tinuously increasing from 1996 to 2009 as reflected in Table 1,
peaking at 27% annual increase for the 1998–2000 period following
the full implementation of the city ordinance on tax collection
(OCPDC, 2002). This income is utilized to support the city’s differ-
ent projects and public facilities and services.
2002 2004 2006 2008 2009
226.41 236.26 274.46 323.32 400.66
226.41 236.26 502.31 532.32 519.45
584.08 719.22 776.76 855.68 920.11
4.08 11.57 4.00 5.08 7.53
244 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251

Fig. 4. Some of the most popular tourist destinations in Baguio city. (From left to right: The Mansion, Burnham park/lake, Camp John Hay & Baguio Cathedral). The Mansion,
formerly known as Mansion house, was built in 1908 and served as the residence of the US Governor-general who was then the administrator in the Philippines. It is currently
the official summer residence of the President of the Philippines. Burnham Park was named after its planner himself, Daniel H. Burnham, an American city planner, who
designed the original plan for Baguio city. This park is well known in the entire country. Camp John Hay was established in 1903 to serve as a military reservation of the U.S.
army. This former rest and recreation facility of the US Armed Forces is now a popular tourist destination in the city with its world-class golf course and other amenities. The
Baguio Cathedral has also been a major landmark in the heart of the city. It served as an evacuation center during the Second World War. Sources: OCPDC (2002);
www.baguio.gov.ph; www.gobaguio.com; www.innsison.com.

Table 2
Total foreign tourists visited the Philippines and CAR from 2000 to 2009 (103). Source: NSCB (2010).

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Philippines 1841.8 1698.1 1848.9 1806.9 2187.6 2497.7 2697.0 2911.3 2944.1 2819.2
CAR 53.9 47.5 41.1 53.7 57.4 70.6 76.8 92.6 113.1 89.9
% To total (Philippines) 2.9 2.8 2.2 3.0 2.6 2.8 2.8 3.2 3.8 3.2

Another fast growing sector in the city is education, which gen-
erates an average annual income of PhP2 billion. This has helped
sustain the city’s income for the last few decades (Cabreza, Caluza,
& Dauigoy, 2009). The education sector has also become the city’s
primary profit center (Cabreza et al., 2009), coinciding with the de-
cline in tourist arrivals in the wake of the world financial crisis
(NSCB, 2010). Currently, Baguio city is regarded as the education
center of northern Luzon in the Philippines catering to both local
and foreign students. This is due not only to the good standards
of the learning institutions in the city but also to the moderately
cool conducive environment the city provides. Public and private
schools and universities can be found in the city. The city’s literacy
rate is 98% (www.baguio.gov.ph, 2009).
The agricultural, industrial, and service sectors provide
employment for the residents of Baguio. The three major sources
of income for families in the city are salaries and wages (61%);
entrepreneurial activities (20%); and other activities (19%)
(OCPDC, 2002). Most of the salary and wage earners derive their
income from employment in service-oriented private enterprises.
Entrepreneurial activities are the second major source of income,
while other sources include net-shares from crops produced, live-
stock raised by individual households, rentals, and the like. In fact,
more than 70% of the industries generating employment for the
residents of the Cordillera region as well as those in the nearby
provinces and municipalities are situated in the city (Agoot,
2010). This highlights the city’s role as a regional center as far
as employment in the region is concerned. Baguio’s employment
rate has improved from 91.4% in 2002 to 95% in 2010, which is
higher than the national employment rate of 92.7% (Agoot,
2010; Lopez, 2010).
Tourism
Despite some setbacks experienced during the recent years due
to the world financial crisis (NSCB, 2010), Baguio city remains a
prime tourist destination in northern Luzon and summer capital
of the country. The city boasts several tourist attractions, including
historical landmarks, cultural heritages, natural, religious, and
man-made features, some of which are shown in Fig. 4. Parks
and gardens also abound in the city. The city hosts events and
festivals that continue to attract visitors, most notably the annual
Flower Festival or Panagbenga3 that is celebrated every February.
Besides being a very popular tourist destination, it is also a
gateway to other tourist hot spots in the north. Hence Baguio city
plays a very strategic role in the region’s tourism industry. In
2005, the Cordillera region welcomed 866,242 tourists, of whom
91.1% were domestic visitors, 8.2% were foreign travelers and
balikbayans4 were the minority at 0.7% (NSCB, 2006). The cool cli-
mate and fresh green and peaceful environment of Baguio, not
found elsewhere in the Philippines and for which the city is noted,
make it a favorite destination for many, especially those who wish
to relax and escape from the excessive heat of the lowlands. This is
the city’s strongest selling point. Thus, during the said year, Baguio
remained the favorite destination in the region with total tourist
arrivals making up nearly 74% of the region’s total. It was estimated
that the tourism industry in the whole region generated PhP5.4 bil-
lion in tourist expenditures (NSCB, 2006). Tourism activities and
the tourists themselves add to increased consumption of the city’s
goods and services. The top ten countries that account for foreign
tourist arrivals from 2000 to 2009 are USA, Korea, Japan, Germany,
Canada, France, Australia, China, UK, and Netherlands (NSCB, 2010).
The comparative statistics of the total foreign tourists visited the
Philippines and the Cordillera region from 2000 to 2009 are pre-
sented in Table 2.
Land use of Baguio city
At the time when mountain tribes (Igorots) named Ibalois and
Kankanaeys settled in Baguio, it was a wide expanse of pasture
and grazing land, partly planted with coffee and partly used as
grazing ground for cattle and horses. Besides one main horse trail,
there were numerous cart trails leading to various parts of the city
(Reed, 1999). Although they may not be in the same geographic
location, the three images presented in Fig. 5 give an idea of how
the old and new landscapes of Baguio city look.
3
Panagbenga is an Ilocano term which means onset of the blooming period of
flowers.
4
Balikbayan (Balikbayans – plural) is a Filipino term referring to people of Filipino
ancestry who are citizens or residents or of temporary status in a different country.
 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251 245

Fig. 5. Old and current landscapes of Baguio city. Fig. 5a shows a part of Baguio city in the early 1900s (Source: Baguio City Hall). Fig. 5b shows a 2010 picture of the fully
urbanized, relatively flat and hilly area (Quirino Hill) in Baguio city. Fig. 5c shows a 2011 picture of Quirino Hill, one of the barangays in the northern part of the city. To its left
is the Buyog watershed.

Based on the existing land use map of the city (Fig. 6) (OCPDC,
2002), forest reserves/watersheds in the city occupy a total area of
521.23 ha. Some of these reservations, however, have been par-
tially encroached upon by settlers. No buffer zones were con-
structed around these reservations like in the case of the Buyog
watershed (Fig. 5c). Parks and industrial areas occupy 48.83 and
130.39 ha, respectively, of the city’s total land area. Open areas
covering 1951.8 ha are vacant/idle areas but include private claims
and ownerships. Open areas at the periphery have steep slopes,
making them unsuitable for the construction of buildings. The rest
of the area is utilized for an airport, abattoir, dumping site and
cemetery. The complete statistics of the land use of the city are
given in Table 3.
Urban growth and development
Urbanization is a vital factor in the demographic changes in Ba-
guio city. Baguio’s distinctive transformation is the product of four
factors (Reed, 1999). First, the original intentions for Baguio as a
convalescent-cum-recreational center when it was first planned
are still relevant today. Second, the Burnham Plan. Despite periodic
revisions to adapt to the current situations, it has retained some of
its significant features (Fig. 2). Third, the resolute exercise of colo-
nial authority by the U.S. Philippine Commission successfully com-
pleted essential infrastructure projects during the initial
development stage in the early 20th century, despite many set-
backs. The commission stood by its belief that Baguio city would
be beneficial to both Westerners and the Filipinos as a highland
health resort and recreational center. Finally, the continuing pro-
cess of Filipinization by western government officials, who encour-
aged Filipinos to build summer homes in the city and to use the
facilities, opened the door for Filipinos to patronize and foster what
was conceptualized and built in the locality. In 1920–1930s, Amer-
ican influence dominated the social, educational, political, and eco-
nomic life of the city. However, the process of change started soon
after the transfer of authority at the local and provincial levels to
Filipinos. The process marked the city’s next step in its journey to-
wards its major transformation.
During the last two decades, the expansion of Baguio city’s
built-up area (urban, residential, industrial, institutional, and areas
occupied by other man-made structures) has been tremendous.
Fig. 7 shows the spatial distribution and expansion of built-up
areas from 1988 to 2009. The built-up area in the city increased
246 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251

Fig. 6. Land use map of Baguio city (OCPDC, 2002).

Table 3 towards to these locations and the trend may still continue if not
Land use in Baguio City. Source: OCPDC (2002).
monitored and controlled. Despite the frequent lack of contiguity,
Land use Area (ha) Percentage many of the built-up expansions are observed along the areas near
Residential 1760.96 30.63 the roads (see Fig. 6 for the road names), specifically Kennon Road
Commercial 201.35 3.50 in the south, Marcos Highway in the west, Naguilian Road in the
Institutional 410.02 7.13 northwest, Ambuclao Road and Halsema Highway in the northeast,
Park 48.83 0.85
Baguio–Bua–Itogon Road in the east, and Loakan Road in the south-
Forest/water reserves 521.23 9.07
Special economic zone 288.10 5.01 eastern side. This reflects the importance of accessibility on the
Open areas 1951.80 33.95 expansion of built-up areas in the city. Fig. 7 also shows that
Roads/creeks 309.71 5.39 built-up areas have already begun expanding towards the perime-
Industrial 130.39 2.27 ter of the city’s administrative boundary, and even outside it.
Agrarian reserves 96.57 1.68
After more than 100 years of its existence, Baguio city has been
Airport 1.72 0.03
Cemetery 20.13 0.35 transformed physically, economically and politically. With a popu-
Abattoir 5.60 0.10 lation of 841 in 1904, composed of 811 Igorots and 30 Ilocanos
Garbage dumping site 2.59 0.05 (Wilson, 1955), the figure swelled to 301,926 in 2007 (NSO,
Total 5749.00 100.00
2007), with a daytime population of around 700,000 (See, 2010).
This tremendous population increase for a relatively small city
has far outstripped its designed ceiling of 25,000 people. During
from 1075.86 ha in 1988 to 1972.71 ha and 2985.12 ha in 1998 and the early 20th century, building of houses in the city by the locals
2009 respectively, at a rate of 8.45% per year for the last 21 years was even encouraged and inspired by city officials (Gutierrez &
(Estoque & Murayama, 2010). The extent of urban development Cariño, 2009). Over the years, however, the population grew very
in Baguio city varies greatly among the barangays, ranging from rapidly. Moreover, the city’s annual population growth rate (APGR)
1% to 100% of their respective areas. The number of fully built-up has always been higher than the national growth rate (Table 4).
barangays had increased from six in 1988 to 46 in 2009. This In comparison to the other great hill stations in Asia such as
means that nearly two barangays per year became fully built-up Simla in India, Murree in Pakistan, Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka, Cam-
between 1988 and 2009. Most of these barangays are situated eron Highlands in Malaysia, Bogor in Indonesia, and Da lat in Viet-
within the central business district (CBD). nam (Crossette, 1999), Baguio is the second largest in terms of
Built-up areas tend to be quite fragmented due to the existence population density. Bogor has the largest population density, at
of institutional reserves like forest reservations and parks that limit 8737 persons/km2 (BPS – Statistics Bureau, 2010) followed by
further development. Also, very steep slope areas command lesser Baguio with a population density of 5252 persons/km2 (NSO,
demand. Nevertheless, there is no assurance that these areas will 2007). The lowest population density among these great hill
not be built-up in the future. People have already begun moving stations is Cameron highlands with 49 persons/km2 (DOSM, 2010).
 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251 247

Fig. 7. Urban growth of Baguio city, 1988–2009. These maps were extracted from the land use/cover maps derived from 1988, 1998, and 2009 satellite images, with accuracy
levels of 86.86%, 87.18% and 89.10%, respectively. Source: Estoque and Murayama (2010).

Table 4
Historical growth of population in Baguio City and the Philippines. Sources: Population data: NSO (2007), OCPDC (2002), www.census.gov.ph (2010).

Census year Baguio city Philippines

Population Population densitya (no. of persons/km2) APGRc (%) Population Population densityb (no. of persons/km2) APGRc (%)
1903 489 8.51 – 7635,426 25.47 –
1918 5464 95.04 63.59 10,314,310 34.41 2.34
1939 24,117 419.50 16.26 16,000,303 53.38 2.63
1948 29,262 508.99 2.37 19,234,182 64.16 2.25
1960 50,436 877.30 6.03 27,087,685 90.36 3.40
1970 84,538 1470.48 6.76 36,684,486 122.38 3.54
1975 97,449 1695.06 3.05 42,070,660 140.35 2.94
1980 119,669 2081.56 4.56 48,098,460 160.45 2.87
1990 183,142 3185.63 5.30 60,703,206 202.50 2.62
1995 226,883 3946.48 4.78 68,616,536 228.90 2.61
2000 252,386 4390.09 2.25 76,506,928 255.22 2.30
2007 301,926 5251.80 2.80 88,566,732 295.45 2.25
a
Computed using the existing land area of Baguio City (57.49 km2).
b
Computed using the existing land area of the Philippines (299,764 km2).
c
Annual population growth rate, computed as: APGR = ((((Census period 2–Census period 1)/Census period 1)  100)/census year interval).

Like Baguio, Bogor also faces problems associated with rapid
urbanization. It is now part of the Jakarta Metropolitan Region,
otherwise known as Jabotabek. Simla, the ‘‘Queen of Hills’’, is
no exception. Its poorly planned infrastructural development
(Jreat, 2004; Misra, 2008) cannot keep pace with rapid urbaniza-
tion. This popular hill station in India, accommodating 141 per-
sons/km2 (Chaudhry, 2003), is now one of the largest towns in
the entire Himalayan region (Jreat, 2004). Administratively, Simla
comprises the Simla municipal corporation and the Simla
planning areas. In Vietnam, rapid urbanization has also been
reportedly changing Da lat’ s landscape and natural beauty due
to the lack of urban planning (Vietnam News, 2010). In Pakistan,
Murree, like Baguio city, was full of potential for development.
This led to a proposal for a New Murree Project aimed at
developing a lavish tourist city. That was, however, before the
Punjab government set the project aside since Murree had
already been declared as an environmentally sensitive area (The
Nation – Pakistan, 2009).
248 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251

Environment-related issues Table 5

Sources of CO2 (tons) in Baguio City, 1998–2000. Source: Clemente (2006).

The uncontrolled population and urban growth, and the Type 1998 1999 2000 2010*
occurrence of natural disasters have exacerbated environmental Residential 40,539 41,871 45,055 101,094
problems. In particular, risks and natural disasters, waste manage- Commercial 19,428 22,257 25,504 85,694
ment, water management, greenhouse gasses emissions are the Industrial 9498 9224 9008 6911
current environment-related issues confronting the city today, Transportation 106,898 116,094 126,097 290,134
Buildings 4258 4402 4764 8399
requiring immediate attention.
Transportation 688 801 922 3304
Specifically, due to high population density, the city is now fac- Street lighting 1233 1289 1511 93,249
ing congestion. This situation has begun putting pressure on peo- Water and sewage 178 95 134 61
ple to settle on steep slopes that are hazard-prone. For example, Total 182,720 196,033 212,994 588,845
Quirino Hill in the northern part of the city (Fig. 5b and c) is already *
Data for 2010 are projections.
very congested despite its rugged topography. In fact, the city is
prone to earthquakes, causing landslides especially on unstable
slopes. Landslides are common in faulted zones, where unstable
slopes are dominant. The July 16, 1990 earthquake resulted in
widespread landslides that caused numerous deaths and massive
property destruction. Such losses could have been mitigated by
engineering and geologic intervention or by a hazard assessment
and proper zoning of the city. Furthermore, Baguio city is situated
along the path of typhoons that pass the Philippine Area of Respon-
sibility (PAR). For the past 51 years, about 19 tropical cyclones af-
fected the city each year (OCPDC, 2002), of which an average of 4
were tropical depressions, five tropical storms and 10 typhoons.
According to records, the highest number of tropical cyclones
was 32 in 1993 (linked to la niña), while the lowest number was
11 in 1998 (linked to el niño).
Furthermore, the voluminous wastes generated have caused
serious problems in waste disposal. The latest statistics show that
residential areas generate 84.28% of the city’s wastes, 12.33% by
the city market, 2.8% by commercial and 0.58% from other sources
(OCPDC, 2002). While there are efforts to minimize the city’s
wastes at the source through various programs such as waste seg-
regation and/or material waste recovery and disposal, these have
not taken off the ground due mainly to the attitude of the residents
and limited space for storage of recyclable waste. Presently, as re-
ported by the municipal office, the dumpsite receives a daily aver-
age of 180.08 metric tons of garbage. Without meaningful
intervention, the lifespan of the city’s dumpsite will only be good
for the next couple of years.
Shortage of water has also been a growing concern due to the
increasing demand. Water supply in the city comes from four Fig. 8. Traffic condition in Baguio city. Photo (a) shows some parked vehicles on the
left side and people cueing for ‘‘Jeepney’’ transport on the right side (2010). Photo
sources, namely wells, springs, surface diversions, and rain basin. (b) shows a heavy traffic at the CBD with street vendors along the street (Gregerson,
Water consumption in the city is increasing at an annual rate of 2005).
2.9% (OCPDC, 2002). Residential units are the biggest water con-
sumer, followed by commercial establishments. The fast pace of Deforestation (including forest conversion) arising from urbaniza-
urbanization of the city has pushed settlements into protected tion (Alangui & Rovillos, 2009; Nomadicasian, 2010; See, 2007) has
areas. The rampant squatting in these areas affects water quality. been contributing to the deterioration of air quality in the city (See,
Watershed areas, like the Buyog Watershed (Fig. 5c), and other 2007). Table 5 shows the sources of carbon dioxide emissions in
sources of water must be protected, for example, by establishing the city.
buffer zones and constant monitoring. With the increasing demand Furthermore, while the presence of the major arteries and high-
for water, additional sources must also be explored and developed ways (Fig. 6) enhances the city’s accessibility, their convergence in
to cope with the requirements of the growing populace. the central business district (CBD) renders the traffic circulation
The deterioration of the city’s air quality, which is caused by system very inefficient. The concentration of urban services at
green house gases (GHG) emissions and dust particles, has also the CBD is another major cause of traffic congestion (Fig. 8), with
been a growing concern despite the ratification of the Republic uncontrolled parking within the CBD and the lack of parking areas
Act No. 8749, otherwise known as Philippine Clean Air Act of aggravating this problem. Also, although the presence of an airport
1999. GHG is derived mainly from combustion by vehicles, emis- in the city enhances its accessibility, residents in the vicinity are
sions from lights and methane from solid waste. Dust particles, also utilizing the runway as an access road, hampering airport
on the other hand, are very small particles generally below one mi- operations.
cron in diameter. They may remain suspended in the atmosphere
for weeks (OCPDC, 2002). Furthermore, the deforestation in the
city area during the last two decades has not been fully stopped. Plans for future development
This is despite the implementation of the Republic Act 705, 1975
or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, aimed at ensuring After a strong earthquake hit the Philippines, and especially
full protection and management of the country’s forest resources. Baguio city, on July 16, 1990, concerned government officials
 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251
reviewed the issues of uncontrolled urban expansion and environ-
mental degradation. It was noted that congestion, resulting from
rapid population growth in Baguio city, was fast spreading towards
the adjoining municipalities of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, and
Tuba. It was thought such expansion could adversely affect the nat-
ural resources of not only the city but also those in the adjoining
areas. Thus, in 1994, a European Community-assisted BLIST (Ba-
guio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba) (Fig. 1) urban master
plan was formally launched. The plan was aimed at directing
development of the BLIST area, of which Baguio city was one of
the municipalities. Several issues that needed the cooperation of
these municipalities were identified, such as those concerned with
water supply and distribution, solid waste management, transpor-
tation management, tourism management, and housing develop-
ment (BDUPP, 1994).
Basically, the plan incorporated two alternative structures that
could implement the BLIST projects. These were the consultative
forum and the metro authority. In the case of BLIST, a consultative
forum consists of the representatives from the member-municipal-
ities, national, regional and provincial government agencies like
the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), non-
government organizations, and private sectors. The idea is that
the forum can provide the general policy direction on BLIST-wide
issues and those that would have an impact on more than one local
entity. At the same time, local entities can directly control projects,
service functions, and planning activities that can be managed
locally. On the other hand, as explained in the BLIST master plan,
a metro authority is a body, which subsumes most or all major
political and administrative powers and responsibilities currently
undertaken by individual BLIST authorities. Unfortunately, LIST
held the opinion that this endeavor was just for Baguio city and
the other municipalities would only serve as a catchment area
and an extension of the city. Thus, the LIST authorities did not favor
the latter during the public consultations because of these two
fundamental reasons: first, the urban population was currently
concentrated in Baguio city only. Hence, the creation of ‘‘Metro’’
BLIST would only be appropriate once BLIST population has spread
into or increased in the other municipalities. Second, the necessity
of establishing a metro authority would only be urgent if inter-
local issues were not resolved within political boundaries. Aside
from these reasons, however, there was one more unpopular
explanation why LIST authorities could not agree to the Metro con-
cept. It was feared that the concept would cause a quarrel over
political jurisdiction between Baguio and other Benguet town gov-
ernments, especially the LIST municipalities.
Such disagreements led to the adoption of the consultative for-
um as the more workable and acceptable structure, comprising
equal representation from all BLIST members. Thus, on February
19, 1994, the BLIST authorities signed a Memorandum of Agree-
ment to bind these town governments in the implementation of
the BLIST master plan under the consultative forum structure. As
it turned out, the forum did not fare well since its structure was
weak, and it lacked a legal basis to channel financial support from
the national government to BLIST. Furthermore, the lack of support
from the LIST municipalities also aggravated the problem. Whereas
the plan was comprehensive, it failed to outline clearly the benefits
that LIST municipalities could receive (Ngalob, 2009). One can only
ponder: had various misconceptions on metro authority by the LIST
administrators been corrected from the inception of the project,
might the outcome have been different?
With the unfavorable outcome of the BLIST project and an
uncontrolled population growing amidst urban expansion, alarmed
Baguio city government officials scrambled to draw up plans to
avert the threat of urban decay. One of the most significant devel-
opment plans implemented at the start of the 21st century was the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan for 2002–2008. This was an
249
integrated plan covering the economic, social, environment, infra-
structure, development administration and financing, and land use
aspects for the development of the city. The ultimate goal for the
plan period was to enhance the quality of life of the populace
through realizing its resource potential. It was an attempt to satisfy
the ever-increasing needs of the people through rational allocation,
judicious utilization, optimum generation, timely conservation and
protection of the city’s limited resources. Specifically, the plan was
prepared to (a) guide the orderly development of the city to pro-
mote health, safety, welfare and convenience of the population,
(b) provide/delineate guidelines for the use of natural resources,
(c) translate socio-economic policies into a physical plan, (d) pre-
serve special natural features and environmentally critical areas,
(e) serve as basis for reclassifying land; promote an efficient circu-
lation system and, (f) allocate and delineate land use to promote
sustainable development (OCPDC, 2002).
In the implementation of this plan, the city was also guided by
six development thrusts and four development goals. The develop-
ment thrusts were as follows: (a) stir economic growth, (b) en-
hance and sustain tourism, (c) step up infrastructure and utilities
development, (d) pursue human development to improve the qual-
ity of life, (e) protect and conserve the environment, and (f) en-
hance participatory local governance. The development goals
were (a) maintenance and preservation of the city’s cultural and
natural environment, which formed the foundation of the city’s
total progress, (b) promotion of socio-economic equity, (c)
enhancement of economic growth in the city, and (d) improvement
of access to urban facilities and services.
Despite the plan being comprehensive, it was not able to ad-
dress fully the two potential threats of urban decay, namely uncon-
trolled population growth and urban expansion. The increase of
population for the census years 2000 and 2007 (Table 4), and the
urban expansion from 1998 to 2009 (Fig. 7), which are practically
within the plan period, indicated that much more needed to be
done to arrest the root causes of the problem. The lack of a clear
stand on the issue of population control and housing policy, and
with an indecisive urban development framework would only
aggravate the city’s current problems of congestion and environ-
mental deterioration.
Just before Baguio’s centennial anniversary celebration in 2009,
city officials and urban planners revisited Burnham’s plan. The first
plan for Baguio prepared in 1905 by architect Daniel H. Burnham
was inspired by the design of Washington DC, which emphasized
the role of government through the strategic positioning of admin-
istrative buildings (Fig. 2). Crossette (1999) mentioned that after
he was tasked to plan for Baguio, Burnham had predicted multiple
functions that Baguio could potentially have, such as being a resort
for health and recreation, marketing center for the region, an
administrative capital, and a city where people of all income
groups would live and work. Some distinctive features of the Burn-
ham plan included the Burnham Park with its lake and playing
fields, the municipal center (now the City Hall), the commercial
district, and the mansion for the governor-general. As years went
by, other features like the teachers’ camp for training and relaxa-
tion, schools, hospitals, government offices, hotels and more parks
were added.
In fact, many ambitious predictions in the plan have been real-
ized. The other components of his plan that have not materialized
include the proposed ceiling population of 25,000 and environ-
mental protection. In the earlier years of the city, Burnham had
been an advocate of ‘‘green zones’’ like those that he was able to
introduce in the United States (Cabreza, 2008). In his plan for Ba-
guio, he emphasized that the ridges and hilltops should remain
natural (Crossette, 1999). He also campaigned for the protection
and conservation of the forest resources to protect the indigenous
species in the area. However, development pressures and later plan
250 R.C. Estoque, Y. Murayama / Cities 30 (2013) 240–251
revisions clouded this vision and the concept of a cool summer re-
treat for 25,000 people gave way to a rapidly growing multi-func-
tional city. Remaining forest covers are continuously deforested,
and ridges and hilltops have already been conquered (Fig. 5b and
c) as a consequence of the growing demand for various land uses.
After revisiting Burnham’s plan in 2009, government officials
thought that the principles behind Burnham’s plan could still be
adopted so that the previous bad practices would not recur in
the adjacent municipalities. After gaining insights from their previ-
ous attempt to unite BLIST municipalities to work towards a com-
mon goal, local government officials formally began reconstituting
the BLIST concept, adding one more municipality (Tublay). This
newly reconstituted BLISTT aims to strengthen what was started
to ensure sustainable development of Baguio city and the adjoining
municipalities (BLISTT, 2009). At present, the BLISTT Strategic
Development Framework is still being re-formulated. Prior to this,
the following were already set up: (a) the BLISTT Mayor’s Forum
membership (Mayors of BLISTT municipalities, Director of NEDA-
CAR, Governor of Benguet province, Congressman of Baguio city,
and Commissioner of the Baguio Centennial Commission), (b) the
BLISTT technical working group, and (c) the agreement on partici-
patory cost-sharing to defray funding requirements for the formu-
lation and implementation of a new BLISTT master plan (BLISTT,
2009). Currently, BLISTT has also been one of the urban growth
nodes in northwestern Luzon identified by the Northwestern
Growth Quadrangle Commission of the Philippines.
Summary and concluding remarks
Baguio’s status as the summer capital of the country, its grow-
ing socio-economic activities and employment opportunities, and
the development and availability of basic and essential urban ser-
vices and facilities are the major factors that inspired and encour-
aged people to flock to this city. Its continuous growth and
development has helped in its evolution as a hill station to a highly
urbanized regional center. Over the years, however, population
growth has been rapid and urban sprawl has been widespread
without regard for seismic and geologic hazards and the city’s
capability to provide the necessary services. The population of
Baguio has greatly surpassed the maximum number of people that
the city was envisioned to accommodate. From the 2007 census,
this relatively small city, of just 57.49 km2, now supports about
12 times more than its carrying capacity. Due to the ever-increas-
ing demand for better living conditions, Baguio city’s carrying
capacity, in terms of natural, physical and socio-economic re-
sources, has reached critical status. All these continue to adversely
affect the city’s quality of life in particular while placing the city at
risk in general.
Against the backdrop of a looming crisis caused by over-popu-
lation, rapid urbanization, and socio-economic problems, ecologi-
cal concern is now moving to the center stage. Greater emphasis
is being placed on the conservation of the natural environment
in tandem with economic development. Thus, there is an urgent
need to take steps to arrest environmental deterioration to ensure
a better and cleaner environment as well as conservation of re-
sources for future generations. Amidst this current situation, the
city’s potential for further development being one of the great hill
stations in Asia should remain a source of strong motivations and
inspirations to keep moving forward. However, at this point of
the developmental process, every move is critical. The future of
the city depends on what will be done now and in the next few
years. The city must rise to the challenge to address the problems
of urban expansion in the name of modernization and sustainabil-
ity, taking into consideration the significant roles that Baguio city
plays, and its potential. There is a need to put all the initiatives
and efforts of the city government and the city constituents to-
gether. Responsive development plans must be drawn up and
implemented effectively and efficiently.
The integration of adjacent municipalities in the newly recon-
stituted BLISTT development framework may help address conges-
tion and environment-related issues while giving the other
municipalities much better opportunities to improve in the future.
Good governance must be put in place and policies that stress pro-
tection of environment and conservation of its natural resources
should be implemented without any further delay. Lastly, what-
ever governing structure BLISTT may finally adopt in the future,
as long as selfish political interests are set aside and as long as
there is cooperation in the name of sustainable development and
common good, there is every reason for optimism.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the City Profiles editor and three
anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and sugges-
tions on the earlier version of the paper. The financial support from
the MEXT scholarship program of Japan for post-graduate studies;
the assistance of Ms. Ria S. Estoque, and the Baguio city officials
and staff during the field visits and data gathering; and those
who, in one way or the other, have contributed to the completion
of this manuscript, are gratefully acknowledged.
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